Monthly Archives: October 2014

The WINNER of the MUSTACHE prize pack offered on this post is KATRINA (@Bookishthings).

Congratulations Katrina!

Happy Halloween! If you are here because you’re participating in the Halloween Book Trail, check out my answers to the following questions and continue your journey! Right now, you are Off the Beaten Path! (But note, there is also a giveaway right here on this blog and it is super cool too!) Directions for this giveaway follow. If you’re here because you follow this blog, check out these Halloween themed questions I answered to be part of trail. Answers involve me, or my characters from The Boy Problem! You can enter this blog’s giveaway.

Blog Followers: If you haven’t seen the guidelines for the Halloween Book Trail, click HERE and join the fun. About forty authors are participating and you can win lots of fantastic signed books and more. All participants in the Halloween Book Trail AND all blog followers are eligible for the giveaway on this blog so read the directions below and post your answer.

With Halloween, zombies, and the like in mind, I answered these interview questions:

For any spirited, entrepreneurial teen that’s ever had a crush, this sweet read is sprinkled with lessons on life, love, and business. — Kirkus Reviews

If your MC went trick or treating, what would they dress up as and why? I’m going to answer this for a secondary character from The Boy Problem because I know EXACTLY what she would wear. Pri loves cupcakes and helps Tabbi, the MC, launch a cupcake selling business to raise funds for a hurricane damaged school. There is a super cute cupcake costume online right now and my daughter just had to have it a few years ago when she was in middle school. I have no doubt that Pri would want that cupcake costume too! Tabbi, the main character, would probably be a fortune teller, because she is busy trying to predict the future.

What scares the pants out of you? Things that go bump in the night. Now that I have a big dog with a loud bark, these things are less scary!

What is your most embarrassing Halloween costume malfunction? Once, I was a Q-tip for Halloween. It was hard to keep that large pile of cotton on my head.

What is your favorite Halloween memory? In middle school I went Trick or Treating with a group of friends and we were the characters from The Wizard of Oz. I was Dorothy, and my mom helped me make glittery red shoes. This was before you could just buy things like that so we had to find red shoe polish and dye an old pair. Then add glitter, of course!

Would you rather be covered in slime or covered in blood? Slime! People who live down here near the marsh where I do aren’t too afraid of slime.

If the zombie apocalypse happened (and it will), what would be your weapon of choice? I’m wondering if strobe lights and a disco ball would freak out zombies enough to give me time to escape. If so, I’m in for that!

Please share a photo of your favorite Halloween costume you’ve worn. This was definitely not my favorite costume, but hey, it is the only one I could find a picture of. Here, I was about eleven and dressed as Raggedy Andy, which probably means I was talked into wearing this because I know my mom made that hat for a party she and my dad went to as Raggedy Ann and Andy. Notice my sister is a princess in a costume also made by my mom. We won’t go into who might have been the favorite kid based on these costumes! Anyway, the year I was a Q-tip (mentioned above) my sister was Cleopatra. She took one look at my costume and said, “Why wouldn’t you pick a costume that makes you look better instead of worse.” Know what? I’d never thought about it that way. But looking back at the Raggedy Andy and princess costumes, I’m thinking she’d been benefiting from that theory for a long long time. (My brother, dressed as Caspar the Friendly Ghost was probably also wearing a hand-me-down costume, since my sister and I both dressed as Caspar for about three years running. This was before her make-me-beautiful Halloween Costume theory came into play.)

So those are my answers for the Halloween Book Trail! Click HERE to head over to J Duddy Gill’s site for the next stop on the trail. But keep reading before you go to enter the giveaway for this blog.

Regardless of where you finish in the Halloween Book Trail, you can enter to win the Mustache Prize Pack pictured here:

Why the Mustaches? Well… Tabbi, the main character in THE BOY PROBLEM, uses a fake mustache to get out of a problem. And then a fake mustache kind of gets her into a problem. But fake mustaches also get her out of a problem again later. And then back into one… you’ll have to read the book to see how!

To be entered to win, just…

1) (Required) Fill out the entry form below (Don’t forget to hit ‘Submit’!) so we can contact you if you win.

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It’s our pleasure today to welcome Author and Education Consultant Marcie Colleen to Nerdy Chicks Rule! Marcie is an expert on creating highly acclaimed Teacher’s Guides that align picture books and middle grade novels with the Common Core and other state mandated standards. She is the Education Consultant for Picture Book Month and the the Curriculum Developer for Time Traveler Tours & Tales. Her work with Picture Book Month has been recognized by School Library Journal and the Children’s Book Council. Marcie has been an invaluable resource to both the Nerdy Chicks as the developer of many of the educator guides that go with our books! We’re so happy that Marcie is joining us!

Why the Common Core is Good News for Authors

I remember clearly my first few days as a high school English Literature teacher. I was young. I was green. I had no clue what to teach. I had a zillion ideas and no ideas at the same time. The possibilities seemed endless.

And then I was handed a textbook.

It was made clear to me that I was to start toward the beginning of the textbook and work my way through. It was required.

The textbook was the literature class.

In addition to the textbook, the students in my classes were required to read a few longer works.

All “appropriate, pre-approved” choices could be found in the dank dusty book closet which stood locked at the end of the hallway. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

Many of these books had lost their covers. Those that did have covers included out-dated, artwork that often evoked laughter from my rough, urban students. Oh, and good luck finding enough copies for my class. If worse came to worse, I was instructed to photocopy the necessary chapters each week.

That was that. My creativity, my love for books, my countless ideas for stories to bring to class was squashed by this textbook and required reading.

Although these books were classics, they did not always speak to my students, they did not instill a desire to become life-long readers. I was told it didn’t matter. We were fulfilling requirements. If I had any grand ideas of other pieces of literature to introduce, it had to be cleared by the Department and then it was up to me to find a way to integrate it into the existing curriculum while also covering the required literature. Needless to say, I didn’t bring in anything extra.

Now for the good news!

The Common Core does not contain a required reading list. All books are Common Core compliant. Yes, even YOUR book!

The focus has shifted from WHAT the students read to HOW they read. Students are expected to read a range of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts from an array of subjects so that students can acquire new knowledge, insights, and consider varying perspectives as they read.

What does that mean to you as an author?

It means that your book now has a place within the classroom. In fact, teachers that are used to teaching from obsolete textbooks are now looking for good quality literature and informational texts (Common Core lingo for Nonfiction) to bring to their students.

This is a huge opportunity. Of course, it also means that the competition is high. Teachers are still incredibly busy and instruction time is limited. However, there are several ways to make your book (and you) stand out above the rest.

No need to sift through the dank dusty book closet anymore.

Join me right here again on November 10thas we continue this conversation with 4 ways to make your book part of the curriculum!

Thank you, Marcie! This was such a great post!

As a private consultant Marcie works one-on-one to guide authors and illustrators to best position their books for school visits and classroom use. Visit her at www.thisismarciecolleen.com to discover how Marcie can help you navigate the world of children’s literature and education.

And if you REALLY want to learn what Marcie has to teach you, join her at Kidlit Writing School for a Webinar on What Authors Need To Know to Make Schools Fall in Love with Their Books. You can register now for this 90 minute webinar with Marcie by clicking this link to take you to the Kidlit Writing School Square Market. There, you can pay the $50 fee by credit card at Square’s secure site.

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Last spring we had the pleasure of interviewing Marybeth Cornwell, General Merchandise Manager/Senior Vice President Home at Walmart and a cancer survivor. Maybeth has had a fabulous career as an executive and you can read more about that by clicking HERE. She is also a breast cancer survivor and is currently on the Board of Directors of Hope Cancer Resources. As part of her earlier interview, she answered questions for us about her experience with cancer. Her answers were so comprehensive (she even included a reading list) and so wonderful that we decided to save that part of her interview for October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So thank you Marybeth for joining us again!

1. In December 2011, you faced a huge personal challenge when you were diagnosed with breast cancer. How did you prepare to battle it?

Well, first I got my hands on everything I could read about the disease. (I have a “best of / worst of” reading list, included below in this post.) As a next step, I set up a Caring Bridge site. That site is pure genius. Well-meaning friends and family can consume your time with their questions when you should be focused on inhaling/exhaling, researching, and planning.

Then I asked for help. Walmart’s benefits team has a doctor who did an extensive amount of research using facts (“outcomes”) and helped me find the perfect combination of major cancer center + great surgeon + top plastic surgeon – no easy feat. I chose Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD for my mastectomies and reconstruction.

I transferred into my current role (from SVP of Home & Apparel for Sam’s Club to SVP Ladieswear for Walmart US) just two weeks after my diagnosis. Was that an insane time? Yes, but my team and my boss were incredibly supportive. I am so grateful for my company – I had something besides cancer to focus every day, and extra motivation to get well – we had a lot of work to do for our customers!

2. Now that you are a cancer survivor, has your life changed?

Situations that used to make me nervous or unsure just don’t throw me any more. I think to myself “Seriously!? Why are you nervous? You faced down cancer.” It’s a very useful tool for self-empowerment. I am also much less tolerant of negative people or energy-sucking situations. I say “no” more

3. Good for you! We should all be avoiding those energy-sucking situations. After your experience, what is the most important message you can get out to women about cancer?

Get yourself checked, for goodness sake. Screening guidelines are there to protect you. Just do it.

Do not compromise on quality of care. Never feel awkward about needing more information, kindness, respect, returned calls, a second opinion, anything. Your mission is not to have your caregivers like you; your mission is to save your life. You must step up and be your own best advocate.

Thank you Marybeth! You’re a hundred percent right about needing to be your own advocate. No one can advocate for you better, and in most cases, no one cares more. Great advice.